Post by jwrass on Feb 21, 2017 7:55:49 GMT -5
Alternative to BMF / Imitation Silver Leaf
Submitted is a revised version of a tutorial I posted on the MCM forum in January 2016.
I am going to post it in three installments.
I want to preface this post with that comments on MCM were mixed…. Mostly as it pertains to that it seemed to be labor intensive or an advanced skill set. It truly is not that difficult or labor intensive. It’s just another tool for the tool box. I post this as an alternative to those who have an open mind to possibly giving this procedure a try! Does it take some experimentation and practice too perfect….. Absolutely! However, it’s no different than skills we learn to build a model.
Full disclose…. I am not a fan of BMF….. For me I find this process easier with better results! It’s just my opinion, nothing more nothing less….. I submit this to the community as a way of giving something back. If you feel this is not for you that’s fine…….I respect that! Please be respectful of those who may want to try this…As the old saying says “Don’t knock it till you try it”
If your frustrated with BMF and looking for an alternative method to do your shinny bits… You may want to try this technique.
With imitation silver leaf you can vary the sheen and texture with different burnishing techniques I will cover these as we proceed.
Leafing or Gliding is the age old art of applying a very thin film of real 23 karat Gold or Silver Leaf.
Leaf in its purest form is real Gold or Silver that has been hand pounded into sheets known as leaves.
For this tutorial we will be using a manmade Synthetic or imitation leaf.
The medium that holds the leaf to the substrate is called size. Think of size as a glue.
On the left and middle are oil based size, on the right is a water based size. For this tutorial we will be using the old based size.
Size can be sprayed or brushed. For this project we will be using a brush. A soft natural bristle or synthetic brush such as a golden taklon should be used for the application of the size. The brush pictured is a golden taklon.
Leaf comes in booklets of sheets and rolls in various sizes, pictured here are 3”x 3” leaves, each individual leaf is separated by a thin tissue to keep them from sticking to each other.
The leaf is oh too thin and is difficult to apply by hand. It is applied with a tool called a gilders tip or a soft paint brush……. More on that when we apply the leaf!
In its raw form oil size is the color of honey and somewhat difficult to see when Appling to the surface.
Above is a fully loaded brush with size. To make the size easier to see when applying we will tint the size with a bit of Lemon Yellow.
On larger projects I mix a batch of size and tint to my liking, on a small project, I just put a drop of lemon Yellow off to one side and work the color into the brush through the paletting procedure.
This ends the first installment of the leafing process….. More to come!
Silver Leaf Part 2
In the last installment we left off here............. let’s continue and get the brush wet!
Along with the size and the lemon yellow we will need a small container of fresh Mineral Spirts (I use a shallow tuna can) fill the can say 1/4 with spirits. Before we load the brush wash it in mineral spirts, wipe the brush clean and dip it back into the mineral spirts and wipe the excess spirits off, we want the brush to be just damp with spirts. My palette is an aluminum sign blank; however, a shiny paged magazine works just as well. Because we won't need much size for the leaf I'm just going to mix it on the palette.
With a popsicle stick I stir the size (never shake it as it induces bubbles) I make a puddle of size on the palette about as large as a Quarter and just a drop of lemon yellow on the side to tint the size
The key to great paint work with a brush no matter what the subject matter is loading or charging the brush properly. We will be loading our brush with the paletting procedure. Dip the brush in the size and work the paint into the bristles on the surface of the palette in and back and forth motion like that of a pendulum, when the brush is close to having a full charge dip just the tip in the lemon yellow and work that into the size to get a semitransparent look like in the photo above. the yellow is used merely as a tint so we can see where we are laying the size down.
A properly loaded brush should look like the one in the photo, notice how the size is fully loaded all the way to the Ferrell.
Size comes in three drying ranges Fast, Medium and Slow. For this tutorial we will be using a fast size.
When you are ready to commit to applying the size, on the palette or a piece of scrap styrene paint a square of size say 1"x1" in a uniform fashion and record the time. This is Critical!! now proceed to applying the size where you want your shinny bits.
Apply the size to the areas that you want the leaf. I am doing this freehand.... Notice how nice the brush is tracking, that is the direct result of a properly loaded brush..... Now I know not many are going to be able to do this freehand.
I have been making part of my living custom painting on 1:1 for some forty years.
Do not fear!!! Mask the areas adjacent to the areas you want to have leaf applied to with a plastic fine line tape and burnish the edges down tight. Now brush the size on in those areas, however do not flood those areas with size, make like the tape is not there and carefully brush the size on paying close attention to not getting a buildup of size at the tape edge. As soon as you have the size brushed down immediately remove the tape, the size will be wet enough that any small edge that may have occurred will melt back into the size for a razor straight line.
Now let’s prepare some leaf for application
It is imperative that you use new blades when you cut this material as it is oh so thin!!!! Notice how I have a firm but gentle grip on the booklet and leaf that I am cutting. If I were to take my fingers off of this and sneeze I would have pieces of leaf floating everywhere it truly is that thin
Here is one strip that is ready to be applied to the size. Notice how delicate it looks, at this stage this material is very fragile. You are probably thinking well that looks all full of wrinkles and you are right! However, when this is applied to the size it will smooth out very nicely.
TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Next up.....Laying and Burnishing the leaf
Peace Jimmy "RASS"
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